Through a Serpent's Eyes
by FreakyFantasy
Summary: Evra Von is not only a scaly humanoid. He's also a snake handler, a performer at Cirque du freak, and Darren Shan's best friend. He's shy, but has a sense of humor. He's kindhearted, and he's special. This is his story. The story of the Snake Boy.
1. Ties of the Past

Chapter one: Ties of the Past

The red moon rose sadly, it's shadows concealing me in darkness. I laid in a heap, my little body shivering. Large snow flakes spiraled down tiresomely from the overcast sky. They stuck to my body as they landed on me one after one. They stung. Horribly. I snuggled closer to my little blue blanket, trying to get as much warmth from it as possible. The wind bit at that little piece of fabric, my only warmth, trying to tear it from my grasp. My tiny hands pulled my blanket closer to my chest. I whimpered.

My eyelids grew heavy as I struggled to keep my vivid piercing eyes open. Tears streamed down my cheeks. My parents... How could they? What human could be so cruel as to toss their newly born child in a dumpster? I didn't know what had happened at the time, though I knew I was alone, cold, and hungry.

I clawed at my caved in stomach with my long fingernails. I was going to either die of hunger, or of cold. Either one, I was not going to last long. Suddenly, I heard a sound. The clanking of metal boots padding down the cobblestone street. I glanced upwards. A very tall man towering over me, bent down and scooped me up in his muscular arms.

"I am Hibernius Tall," the man said to me, his voice low and steady. He brushed a finger over my blanket, studying the cursive name inscribed on it. "I am going to take you to Cirque du Freak, young Evra Von."

I snuggled closely to Mr. Tall's warm body as he carried me through the streets. I knew it didn't matter, but I had still squirmed when my naked body was exposed as he had scrubbed me clean with some soap and water. I was a newborn baby. Nudity didn't matter. Only my life did.

Hibernius seemed like a nice man, but was very straightforward and quiet. I was scared of him, yet felt comforted by his presence.

Mr. Tall swerved a corner in a abandoned alley. The sun had just started to peek over the tiny specks of mountains in the distance.

"Vampire Mountain," Hibernius mused, pointing. I cocked my head to the side. It sounded like a place I didn't want to go to. The mountain, even from so far away, had a haunting chill that attempted to lure me into the skeletal grasp of it's bones, the bare white fingers of the tree branches. The air seemed to grow cooler as the nightmarish thought crossed my mind.

I must of drifted off in my rescuer's arms because I don't remember much of the trip to my new home. It might have been one of Mr. Tall's tricks, putting me to sleep so I wouldn't remember the way to the cirque. I awoke to the sound of gasps and excited talk all around me. I opened my eyes to see strikingly… different… people in funny costumes surrounding me. There was a bearded lady, a man with two stomachs, a grouchy looking vampire with crop of bright orange hair, a man covered in hands, and many more people. All of them seemed interested in the newest member of their cirque life. All, but the vampire. I watched him stride towards Mr. Tall.

He whispered, "Can I have a word?" then turned on his heels and left. Hibernius handed me off to the Bearded Lady.

"Take good care of little Evra Von. He's been through a lot on the first day of his birth. Can you… take care of him?" He asked her. She smiled beautifully and nodded. She was a nice looking woman, despite the facial hair. She took me away to a bright colored tent. Carefully, she took my blanket from me and began to clean it. She hung it to dry on a wire hanging across the top of the tent. Then, she used a cloth for my diaper. I rested while she used safety pins to keep the cloth on me. I was so scrawny it kept falling off.

The Bearded Lady was very gentle with me. She stroked my cheek softly, smiling. I glanced over at a six-foot tall mirror a little ways away. Her smile vanished. Her eyes saddened. She picked me up and set me in front of the mirror. What I saw made me cry wildly. Green scales in an dazzling array of shades covered my entire body. Narrow yellow snakes eyes stared back at me, scaring me. I had webbed toes and fingers. I touched the extra skin between my fingers. I yanked my arm back in fear and started to scream. I was a monster!

(Years later)

I stretched my muscles. I groaned and rolled out of my hammock. I flicked my forked snake tongue out. Rubbing my eyes, I sat up in my bed. Mr. Tall and the orange haired vampire, who I later found out was named Larten Crepsley, were in deep conversation just outside my tent. I brought myself to my feet. I pressed my scaled ear up against my personal tent.

"Hibernius, are you sure you want the," Mr. Crepsley paused, "Snake Boy, as an act in the cirque? To me, he seems too frail and shy by himself. Maybe we should get him a stage companion?" he suggested.

"A stage companion? I like it. How do you think he'd react to being a snake handler and trainer?" My eyes widened. A snake? I was getting a snake? I pressed my ear harder against the curtain, only to realize, well, it was a curtain. It came loose from the metal pole holding it up and I crashed into Mr. Crepsley.

"Oh…" I moaned. I was given a mean glare from the vampire. I cringed under his stare.

"I'm sorry." I muttered quietly. His eyes softened.

"Evra, how would you like a snake? As a four year old boy, do you think you can handle it?" I nodded enthusiastically.

"Snake," I chirped, "Snake Boy needs a snake!" That sentence right there got me a rare smile from the vampire.


	2. Storm before the Calm

Chapter two: Storm before the Calm

My eyes snapped closed at the frightening sight of the coming storm. The yellowing sky masked the sun. The air grew hot and damp with the rain that began to spill from the thick clouds. I hated storms. I refused to open my eyes to the beastly disaster waiting to happen. A tornado was approuching. From the upper east region, it came hasteily. Scared as I was, I finally gave in to Mr. Crepsley's sharp warning to "open your eyes, kid!" The harsh wind scratched at the scales on my face, feeling threatenigly like they were going to be ripped from my flesh. I shivered, even though the wind was growing hotter. Mr. Crepsly sighed tiresomely, annoyed with me.

"You have to pick up the slack. I don't care that you can see the tornado. You have to help me secure the Wolfman," he ordered. I nodded glumly. Goody. The Wolfman times tornado equals misery for me. I regretably followed Mr. Crepsley, staying close to his heels like a lost puppy. The Wolfman's cage needed to be bolted together more than usual because of the storm. If he got loose, everyone at camp would probably be ripped to pitiful little shreds. So I stretched the muscles in my arms, and approuched the huge iron cage. Mr. Crepsly handed me some large bolts.

"We have to bolt down each corner," he explained softly, no longer sounding annoyed with me. I knew what to do. I had seen Mr. Tall do it before. But now, I was the one who had to do it while Mr. tall was on a mysterious leave. Shakily, I held a bolt against the bottom right cornor. "If I hit you," Mr. Crepsley announced, "Then you can give me a good blow to the head for hurting you." That made me feel somewhat better. The man did care about me. A little bit at least. Mr. Crepsley struck at the bolt, pounding it in with a decent sized mallet. I had to be careful. Mr. Crepsly could accidentally hit my fingers if I twitched, or the Wolfman could manage to bite my fingers off.

"One down," I breathed, "Three to go." We continued this meathod, the vampire pounding, me avoiding both the mallet and Wolfman, for about five more minutes. As each second ticked awway, the tornado zigzagged dangerously closer. My heart rattled in my chest. Beads of sweat formed on my forehead. Never before had I been so scared. The storm was almost upon us, and I was scared I was about to die. I was only four years old. I had my whole life ahead of me and I _still_ hadn't got the pet snake I had been promised. I had waited a week for it already. I couldn't die. I was too young. And I didn't have my snake!

Once the bolts were finished, the swirling mass of destructive wind has struck the camp. Mr. Tall had put a deflective shield over Cirque du Freak, though everything still shook. I collapsed to my knees, sobbing uncontrollably. Mr. Crepsly bent down and picked me up in his arms. He held me close. My head rested on his chest.

"Hold your breath!" he yelled over the noise. I did. He flitted (running with vampire speed), to his own tent. He set me down onto a blanket on the floor. He must of known ahead of time that the storm was coming, since it was my blanket.

"Mr. Cr-Crep-sley!" I gasped, clutching my chest. I had held my breath like he had instructed, but the shock and impact of his speed had winded me. He came over to my side, settling down next to me. I calmed myself down, breathing steadily now. I took in the sight of his tent while we sat together. Not many living beings were allowed to enter Larten's tent. There was a polished black coffin in the far side. It had an eerie faint glow seeming to come from it. There were also several maps spread across a dusty wooden table. On a metal stand, stood a proud cage. Usually it was veiled by a black fabric. But now, I could see what he kept in it clearly. A gigantic vivid colored spider was nestled in the bottom of the cage. I shivered. She was beautiful. My eyes swept over the silver mini flute Mr. Crepsley used to control her.

The vampire suddenly emersed us in a conversation, stealing my attention away from his pet.

"Are you okay?"

"I think so... I'm scared."

"Fear is good."

"It is?"

"Yes. Without it, people would do stupid things. And when people do stupid things, they get themselves and the people around them killed. Don't do stupid things."

"Okay." I replied. Larten ran a hand through my long, thin, yellow-green hair. That surprised me.

"No matter what anyone tells you, you are not a monster." he whispered. I stared at him. Why'd he bring that up?

"Yes I am." I argued.

"No you are _not_!" Now his voice was sharp. The sudden anger made me jump. The wind outside the safety of the desolated area where we were currently holding the cirque, howled like a thousand mad dogs all in unison. "No you are not," he repeated, this time quietly. I frowned.

"Then what am I?" The man smiled partially, the left cornor of his mouth pricking up. He helped me to my feet.

"You are Evra Von," he stated simply, "You are the special Snake Boy. That's what you are."

...

Slowly, I peered out Mr. Crepsly's tent. The storm had vanished from sight. I grinned. A rainbow stretched over the bright blue sky. I was delighted. This was my first rainbow! I started to tell Mr. Crepsley when i remembered he had drifted off to sleep in his coffin.

"Oh yeah. It's daylight. He's noctornal." I recalled, scratching my chin. I picked up my blanket, then wrapped it around my waist. I wore only a pair of white shorts. My legs were cold.

I yawned, feeling sleepy from all the energy I had lost fretting about the storm. The clouds had parted, letting the sun through. It warmed my back when I sat down on a small hill, facing my home. I watched the people below. Truska, the Bearded Lady, was sitting by a fire, cooking nice juicy sausages. My eyes darted from person to person, intreaged by how differant everyone was from each other. No one had exactally the same personality.

"I wonder if there is anyone here that is like me," I said to myself before I fell alseep in the confort of the warm sun, "I wonder if there are any other snake boys here."


	3. A Present from Burgandy

Chapter Three: A Present from Burgandy

I drummed my fingers on the oak desk in Mr. Tall's tent. I tried to keep busy in waiting for his arrival. He had spoken to Mr. Crepsley through his telepathy, asking the vampire to tell me to wait for him to get back.

"What's taking him so long?" I grumbled, "I'll be five by the time he gets here." I half expected Hibernius to show up just as I spoke. He had a strange way of doing things like that. I pushed the wooden chair I sat in, backwards with my feet. I scratched my itchy arms. Dead scales peeled off my body in chunks. I squealed like a baby pig at the site of that.

"IIIYYYEEE!" I could hear someone jump at the sound of my sudden screech, bumping into whatever was behind them.

"Evra! What in the world!" a gruff voice barked. I slowly turned around, shaking. Like I had figured, the gruff voice belonged to ol' Larten. I pushed my hand full of scales in his face.

"I'm dying!" I wailed. Mr. Crepsley rolled his eyes.

"You're just shedding," he mused, scratching the ugly, jagged scar on his face. Only then did I notice it for the first time. _Where'd he get that nasty scar?_ I wondered. The man's past was a puzzle to me, where as I only had maybe one or two pieces of that thousand piece puzzle in my possession. "I thought you would have shed before now," he broke in to my thoughts. I squinted.

"Hmm?"

"Yeah. I would of thought so. Maybe you're just a late bloomer," he paused, "Though you do seem of much, much higher intelligence than other four year old humans. Maybe it has something to do with what you are." Another pause. "Sometimes, I wonder how you became that thing." he muttered, not realizing that I was taking "_that thing_" as an insult. My eyes watered, but I quickly brushed the tears away and shrugged. I didn't want Larten to think of me as a weakling. I respected him, looked up to him, and actually sort of... _liked_ him. _He's nice, when he's not being a crick in my neck. _I smirked at the thought. I could imagine the man shaking me by the neck yelling, "I'm a crick in your neck! A crick!" Somehow that vision amused me. Maybe it was because in the vision he was acting hystarical. Mr. Crepsley. Having a hystarical breakdown. _That_ would be a sight to see.

A subtle hiss in my ear brought me back to reality. Mr. Tall stood before me, his hands shoved in his pockets.

"Do you want to meet your new serpent?" he inquired.

"YES!" I yelled, a little too loudly. More hissing. I bit my lip, so excited that I didn't even taste the bright crimson blood that was swept into my mouth as I licked my chin. I held my gaze foreward, my eyes locked with Mr. Tall's.

"There is... one more thing," Mr. Crepsley informed me. I tore my gaze away from the extreamly towering man, so I could see what the orange haired guy had hidden behind his back. He smiled, reaviling his sharp fangs. Out from behind him came forth a girl. A girl with dark purpley red hair tied back in a pony tail that swept over the bottom of her shoulder blades. She approached me. She had captivating lime green eyes and a wonderful smile. I let out a "Oh!" when I realized _this girl__ had scales._ Scales in an array of blues decorated her slender body. The majority of them were royal blue and sky blue. She wore a purple sleeveless dress that flowed beautifully with the wind that swept inside of the open tent. She was only around six years old.

"A snake girl!" I breathed, mezmerized. She flicked a forked tongue out at me, then giggled.

"Name's Burgandy. I am here to deliver your new stage compainon!" Burgandy chirped. She had a small, singsong sort of voice. I took a step towards her. Vivid eyes scanned my body, my hair, then landed on the paler patch of scales from where I had scratched the top layer off on my arm. I then felt embarressed.

"I shed. This news must be new to you." Her bright eyes rolled back as she laughed at me. I felt hurt. Yes, people laughed at me all the time. But coming from her, it was differant. It angered me. My eyes flared a dark shade of yellow, darker than they had ever gotten. Burgandy ceased her laughter.

"Oh, I'm sorry. I thought you were kidding."

"No. I meant it. Your scales are so flawless. I figured you just didn't shed." I explained. She thanked me for the compliment, then stated,

"Oh honey, all snakes shed. I had no clue that you didn't know that." I placed my hands on my tiny, flat as a board, hips.

"I'm four."

"You are?"

"I hope so. I'd be pretty upset if I were older, being this short."

"You're not short."

"Wanna bet?"

No reply.

"That's what I thought." I hid my smile behind the front of my right hand as she pursed her lips, flustered she had lost an argument to me. (It wasn't a loud, angry argument. Just a little petty, "uh huh" "nuh uh" thing.)

"Do you want your snake or not?" she demanded suddenly. I blinked. She took that as a yes and grabbed my wrist. She pulled me over to a corner of the tent to keep Mr. Crepsley and Mr. tall from hearing what she was about to say next. They had been watching us, rather pleased with our entertaining childishness.

"Her name is Indonesia. She is an ancient breed; one that grows wiser at the turn of each hour. She's a beauty, though heed my warning. She is a powerful creature. Smart. Deadly when neccessary. And she has a way with people like us. People that share her same DNA. Speak kindly to her. Soothe her nerves when she is upset or scared. You will become the best of friends, as long as you take a stupendous amout of care for Indonesia. She is a remarkable snake." Burgandy spoke in a hushed tone, which wasn't hard for her, considering how quiet her voice already was.

The Snake Girl dug her hand in her front pocket of her dress. The pocket sat at the hip. She scooped a teensy, frail yellow creature out and plopped it in my open palm.

"She's... like five inches long," I observed. Burgandy gave me a sharp flick in the ear.

"She'll grow. Don't insult her." I gave her a "you've gotta be kidding me", look.

"It's not like she knows what I am say-"

"She does." I was cut off. Mr. Tall and Mr. Crepsley now stood behind us, their arms crossed. It had been the vampire that had spoke. I subconciously let my jaw drop.

"Indonesia can understand me?" Indonesia raised up, as if in response, swaying her head side to side. My heart skipped a beat. "Hello."

My new stage compainon breathed a little sigh.

"Hello Evra Von. I am Indonesia."


	4. Up in Flames

Chapter Four: Up in Flames

Night settled over the camp like fog, slowly inching over us. I had much work to do, in little time. Indonesia and I had our first act that day, and I was excited. Yet afraid. No one in the Cirque du Freak had ever failed an act. What if I did? I gulped. Mr. Crepsley wouldn't dare feed me to the Wolf Man like he joked about to Mr. Tall if I did poorly. Would he? Shivering at the thought, I went to fetch my red cape Burgandy had made me. It smelled like roses, like she did. It draped over my shoulders and fell almost to the floor.

"Oh, it looks so dashing on you!" Burgandy marvled, turning me around so she could see the cape on me from every side. I had been not pleased to have her barge into my tent. Though she did what she pleased. The Snake Girl combed my scraggly hair, brushed my yellow teeth, and attempted to cut my nails.

"No, no, no, no, NO! That's where I draw the line, missy." I pulled away from her in time. All my nails were their same original length. Burgandy pouted.

"But-"

"Hey, I'm suppose to look creepy. Not pretty. That's what you are for." She blinked, cocking her head at me. "Mr. Crepsley said for one night only.. You can be on stage with me. So, you can be the pretty one, and I'll be the creepy one. Deal?" I could feel my body muscles tense underneath her abrupt hug that almost winded me.

"I'm going to be on stage!" she squealed. I wriggled out of her lung-squeezing grasp.

"For one day only." She nodded.

"Better than nothing, I suppose. I still get to live here. Well, you go mess up your hair and eat onions to make your breath smell bad again. I am off to go choose what I will wear!" She started to skip off joyfully. Then Burgandy stopped. "What are we doing in our act?" she asked me. I straitened up (I had been slouching) when Indonesia slivered up my arm.

"I'll tell you backstage. It's simple really. But it'll be cool." The girl gave me a thumbs up, the scurried back to the tent she shared with the Bearded Lady. I watched her go.

"Prepare for the unexpected," a voice hissed in my ear. It was neither male nor female. It's harsh tone made my skin crawl. Where had it come from? Slowly, I made my way over to my mirror, so that I could make my hair un-kept and dirty, just the way I liked it. I didn't hear the voice again. Even so, I waited. The sudden voice had been so chilling, I couldn't get it out of my head. No one at the cirque had a tone like this.

Minutes ticked away endlessly, my heart jumping every now and then. Those words were unforgettable. Something was going to happen. I could feel it with my entire being. Something, or someone, was going to ruin mine and Burgandy's performance with Indonesia.

...

"Ladies and gentlemen, may I have your attention please," Mr. Tall announced, his voice echoing out into the huge audiance seated to watch us, "These stunts are highly dangerous, and I recommend you do not attempt to do them, unless you wish to have certain death. These freaks, the title that you have given us, are very special. You must not insult us. We are here for your entertainment. We have trained long and hard, so no booing or hissing." He flashed a smile towards Burgandy, then to me on the word "hissing". I hissed eagerly from behind the curtin of the right side of the stage. Burgandy did the same from the left curtain on the left side of the stage. The crowd squirmed. Our hisses were loud and unsettling.

"Now, for the moment you all have been waiting for. I present to you, the Cirque du Freak!" The crowd roared in approval. Mr. Tall cleared his throat. "The first performer is the beautiful, charming, Madame Truska!" The Bearded Lady stood behind the same curtain where I stood.

"Goodluck!" I wispered in her ear. She smiled warmly and nodded her appriciation. Then, she walked out from behind the curtain. Her blue satin sleeveless dress shimmered in the spotlight that was cast over her. Truska's black wavy hair blew out around her, even though there was no wind, or no fan. She was chilling. Mr. Tall was now at the front left cornor of the stage.

"Madame Truska has a special talent." He held up a pair of scissors that glinted in the stage lights. "Do we have any volenteers to help her with her talent?" Several hands shot up in the air. "You with the pink hair, come up here." He pointed to a gothic punk looking boy with a tongue piercing, as well as his ears covered with earrings. He had long emo style hair that was dyed hot pink. He wore a black tuxedo, and appeared to be around sixteen. The boy stood beside Mr. Tall.

"What is your name?" Mr. Tall asked. The boy spoke, his tongue piercing able to be seen,

"My name is Luke." He handed Luke the scissors. The volunteer, being six foot four, still had to look up at Mr. Tall.

"What do I do with these?" he asked.

"You'll see." Madame Truska came over to the pink haired boy as Mr. Tall said this. She smiled delicately. "Touch her chin," Hibernius instructed. Goth boy retched out his hand and brushed his long, nimble, bony fingers over her chin. Slowly, he tore his fingers away from her bare skin. She turned to the audiance. Bristles of black hair peaked out from her chin. They began to grow longer and longer. Luke's eyes widened.

"Woa," he gasped. Truska turned her head and her beard touched the floor. She then turned her head to look at the volunteer.

"Luke, try to cut off her beard." The sixteen year old slid her long beard in between the blades of his scissors. He clamped the scissors closed. Her beard wouldn't cut. He tried again. It still wouldn't. He gave Mr. Tall a "what's the deal?" glare. "Want to try using a chainsaw to cut it?" The boy's jaw dropped.

"I don't know how to use a chainsaw."

"Do you want me to pick a differant volunteer?"

"No."

"Then I'll go get the chainsaw." And Mr. Tall did just that. He fetched a large chainsaw from backstage. "Now cut her beard." Luke steadily held what could be used for a dangerous weapon, in his hands. He looked uneasy. Green almost.

"What if I cut her on accident?" Mr. Tall was now aggrivated.

"We are loosing precious preformance time.." Luke shut up and did as he was told. He started the chainsaw, and tried to cut Truska's beard. It did not cut. It wasn't even damaged. The crowd let out an "ooh!" in unison. The Bearded Lady closed her eyes, and her beard sunk back inside of her.

"The Bearded Lady, everybody!" Mr. Tall said. She bowed, and the crowd cheered and clapped. Luke went to go sit back down when Mr. Tall pulled him to the side. He whispered something in his ear. Something I couldn't make out. The vivid haired goth nodded slowly, thinking over whatever had been said to him. He then went back to his seat in the front row.

Burgandy's eyes were locked on Luke. She looked... angry. Really angry.

...

I watched from the sides as many other performers were announced. Their tricks were phenomanal. Burrgandy and I weren't really going to do any stunts or tricks. We were mostly there for show. No one here had ever seen snake people before. Or a snake that obeyed my every command. My entire body tingled as we were called out. I crept onto the stage in the dark, my red cape covering my scales. Burgandy and I had only rehursed once. I prayed a silent prayer we would do well.

The lights flashed on in an instant. My heart thudded with fear. Stage fright is over-whelming. I had to stay calm. Slowly, I stood to my feet with Burgandy by my side. We faced the stage, my cape concealing us from view.

"Now, as our last act of the night, we have two very special people. Meet Evra and Burgandy!" The hushed crowd began to murmer. Burgandy and I stayed rooted in place, not revealing ourselves. I held Indonesia in my mouth extra carefully. One wrong move and I could swallow her. Very smoothly, Burgandy slid out from under the cape into the open. The crowd gasped. Her snake skin glittered in the stage lights. She hissed, her forked tongue flicking out. _My turn, _I thought.

I let the cape fall to my feet. More gasps. This time louder.

"There are two of them!" a man said. I nodded to Burgandy who flicked her tongue out again. Then I did the same. But a tongue did not come out of my mouth. Instead, a yellow snake shot out into the audiance. Screams. Screams split through the air. Indonesia landed in Luke, the volunteer from before,'s lap. Luke dared not move, his eyes glued to the reptile.

"Ehh.." I whispered. I hadn't meant for it to land on anybody. I started to go retrieve my snake when Mr. Tall stopped me.

"Luke knows what he's doing. Just wait and see." Luke very gently picked up my pet and caressed her in his pale hands. I watched intently. What was he doing? Luke got out of his seat and handed my stage companion back to me. I thanked him.

"No problem," he whispered. He then said in an audible tone, "You tried to kill me. So I will do the same to you." Luke burst into flames, fire leaping off his body. His skin began to smell like ash and death. The audiance jumped up from their chairs and retreated from the Cirque, yelling and hollering. Luke was on fire!

Burgandy shoved me out of the way. I fell to the floor, barely managing to catch the flying Indonesia. This girl was mad, I tell you. MAD. Her eyes burned with hatred for Luke. Mr. Tall stepped in between her and him.

"No! He is a preformer!" He snarled. The Snake Girl, shocked and embarressed, looked away.

"I thought-"

"Well don't think!" Luke snapped. He patted the flames off his body. He was perfectly unharmed. His tone now changed towards her, "I can burst into flames without feeling pain or dying. I am a circus boy. This is my talent," he explained. Burgandy shifted her weight to her other foot.

"You scared away the audiance..."

"I meant to. It was all part of my act."

"Your act?" I asked. The flame boy grinned.

"Yes, Hibernius told me to do as such. People will be talking about the Cirque du Freak for days." I cradled my pet snake in my arms, hoping she hadn't been startled by being stuffed into my mouth or being hurtled in the air.

"My name is Evra Von," I told him. Luke placed a warm hand on my scaley shoulder.

"I am Luke Handervelt. Nice to meet you, young Evra. I will be joining the Cirque, and replacing Burgandy Tesk." He grinned wickedly. "Mr. tall has too many performers. he needs to weed them out. He has decided he wants me, _instead of_ _Snake Girl."_


End file.
